1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in telecommunication systems, and more particularly to telecommunication systems which rely upon use of promotional or advertising message presentation or other message presentation during a normal ringing cycle.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
In most telephone systems throughout the world, initiation of a telephone call is achieved by a caller generating a dial tone at his or telephone and that dial tone or voltage is then used and/or received by a telephone switching station, which selects the telephone corresponding to a dialed or inserted telephone number. Thus, if a caller dials the telephone number 12345, the switching station automatically sends that telephone call to the telephone having the telephone number 12345. At that point in time, a ringing signal is generated, which is a signal other than a voice communication signal, and is effectively initiated by the telephone switching station.
The ringing signal causes the telephone at a particular location to generate a telephone advisory message which is usually audible (or visual in the case of telephones for the hearing impaired), so that the recipient knows that a caller is waiting to communicate with the recipient. The vast majority of telecommunication systems which are presently in operation, and particularly public and private telephone systems, use some type of ringing signal to inform a receiver or recipient of an intended message that a caller is attempting to access the recipient of the telephone call. Thus, if a telephone communication is initiated to a particular residence, the telephone in that residence will generate a ringing signal advising the occupants of the intended call. When the recipient picks up the telephone handset or effectively unhooks the telephone, a message path is completed.
Although a ringing signal is generated at the residence or other location to which the telephone call is directed, a similar ringing signal, referred to as a “ring-back” signal, is generated also in the telephone of the caller. This is accomplished again, through a telephone switching station associated with that caller, so that the caller may hear a ringing signal and recognize that the telephone of the intended recipient is also ringing.
There is, by telephone design, a delay which arises between the completion of a dialing process and the initiation of a first ring of a ringing sequence. Although that time period may be short, perhaps no more than four to six seconds, depending upon the particular telephone system, that time is merely a wasted time period in which the caller must await an initiation of a ringing signal. However, most callers immediately become accustomed to the fact that there is a time delay, and hence this time delay is expected with little or no consideration being given to that delay. In addition to the foregoing, most telephone systems also use a quiescent time period between each of the ringing signals in a ringing signal sequence. Thus, a fair interval of time exists between the initiation of a telephone call and the actual time that a recipient answers that telephone call by unhooking or activating his or her telephone system.
It would be possible to use this entire ringing cycle for presentation of an advertising or promotional message. It is also possible to deliver this message to the calling party. Delivery of a message to a calling party is particularly advantageous for an organization which is called and which wishes to promote its products or services via telephone advertising or promotion. In this way, a substantially longer advertising or promotional message could be generated for hearing by a party attempting to contact a particular organization. However, if desired, it is also possible to direct that message to the recipient of the telephone call, or otherwise to both parties. The generation of a message, and particularly a message in the nature of an advertising or promotional message, can be quite advantageous for a consumer of a given product or service in that product information could actually be given during this time period. The use of this advertising or promotion, via the telephone communication link, is highly advantageous in that it can result in lower cost telephone service for the consumer attempting to initiate a contact with a certain business organization. Consequently, it is believed that the telephone communication system of the invention is highly effective for organizations which frequently receive telephone communications about the products or services. Thus, in each case, the caller would listen to an advertising or promotional message about the product or service offered by the organization that the caller was intending to contact.
The concept of applying an advertising or promotional message to a telephone communication link has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,382 dated Mar. 7, 1989, to Neal Sleevi. The Sleevi patent, however, is specifically limited to a land based or so-called hard-wired network and does not include more modern forms of telecommunication which have become available since the time of the Sleevi patent. Moreover, Sleevi did not envision the selective selec-1Xtion of messages depending upon a particular caller and which selected message was designed to conform to or meet the purchasing information or other criteria of a particular customer. Thus, Sleevi was deficient in this regard, as well as in other areas.
U.S. patent application Publication No. US 2001/0051517 A1, published on Dec. 13, 2001, to Jonathan Streitzel identifies a telecommunications advertising system in which advertising or promotional data is not limited only to a land based system, but also includes a wireless or cellular communication system. However, the Streitzel publication based on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/753,415, filed Jan. 2, 2001, similarly suffers a number of disadvantages. Although Streitzel does provide for advertising and promotional messages used in a cellular communication, it does so with several limitations not necessarily overcome by the Sleevi patent.
There are also several commercially operating telephone companies forming part of the Bell system, which generate messages before the ringing signal. Thus, for example, the telephone organization may offer a message to the effect that this telephone call is brought by “Coastal Bell”. However, that message is generated with the use of a time delay before the actual ringing signal is initiated. In effect, it does not replace any or a portion of the ring-back signal, or for that matter, the ringing signal.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a telecommunication system in which an advertising or promotional message could be generated over a telephone communication link and delivered in the time between or in place of a ringing signal sequence.